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What makes alien fighting action films thrill people? Maybe it is the fact that the films revolve around a theme of similarity between interplanetary species. It might also be the fast paced action and the stellar weapons. It is most likely the fact that we all want to see good old fashioned butt kicking secret agents.

Men and Black Three attracted most audiences because we wanted to see the adventure of K and J continue. This adventure involves one of humanity's most coveted desires: time travel. Time Traveling and ancient alien butt kicking weapons make this film both hilarious and stunning to watch.

Another reason to watch the film is the conclusion. The conclusion involves J's relationship with K. We learn about when J first met K. This conclusion might be one of the few parts of the film that is new.

Even though the film includes time traveling, the methods used to fight the aliens are the same as Men and Black one and two. The plot continues to involve saving the world from an alien invasion. It is nice to sit with your family and watch a film that will make you laugh and think. When you watch it , don't set high expectations for this film.

What makes Pixar movies appeal to me? Maybe it is the timeless theme of persistence, character, and inner strength. It might also be the meticulously crafted animation design. The most likely reason might be the music.

First of all, Brave is a movie that continues Pixar's theme of portraying their characters as symbols of perseverance and freedom.

Merida symbolizes the rebellious teenager who struggles to find her own identity. This is theme makes the character connect not only to young children, but also to young adults. It is stage of life that allows the character to find his or her own wisdom and philosophy. When Merida goes on this soul searching adventure, she created a more intimate relationship with her mother.

Merida's adventure to restore the kingdom to normal shows is a test of her will. Her ability to persevere is very inspiring to the audience. When the challenge seems impossible, there will be a solution somewhere.

Pixar's ability to make animation movies feel realistic and authentic is amazing. This time the team at Pixar has taken its fans to Northern Europe, where the Vikings ruled. The breathless and sublime scenery make the film feels more like Pirates of the Caribbean than How to Train Your Dragon.

Music has always helped Pixar films drive home the message. The music in Brave has set the tone for potential dangers, conflicts, and resolutions. The audience feels touched by the tone of the music at the conclusion of the film.

Nonetheless Pixar has made a film that will endure with its overreaching theme about acceptance of different races. All the Pixar characters represent different people in real life who come from different backgrounds. However, they share a common guiding principle of perseverance and integrity.Brave is a film worth watching because of its stunning visual effects and cinematography. Its deeply principled characters motivate Pixar's audiences to be more empathetic to others.

For those of you who read my first article last year, you know I went to the Canadian Rocky Mountains, which is part of a chain of mountains known as the North American Rocky Mountains. This year I crossed the border from Canada to the United States to explore the American Rocky Mountains. I went to four national parks, one state park, two major Midwest cities, and six states. That sums to a 2000-mile road trip. There are many places, but we have been driving parallel to the North American Rocky Mountains for the whole time. We had to drive through the mountain range in order to get to Yellowstone, Denver, and Utah. Since I went with a tour group, I will go over what I saw and recommend which places deserve more scrutiny.

First, we travelled to Denver and the Colorado State Capitol. It was a good relaxing day to prepare for the next day, but if you are travelling by yourself, then it is not worth seeing the Capitol. Most state capitols are the roughly the same design. Colorado State Capitol is a little bit different because it has a solid gold top that commemorates the gold rush during the 1950s. The third step from the top is one mile above sea level. It is one of the highest state capitols in the country. One mile above sea level is not scary because Denver sits on a plateau that is 5,280 feet above sea level. I recommend that you bring sunscreen because the ultraviolet rays on a plateau are more intense than on sea level. Afterwards, we went to 16th Avenue. It was just shopping and small tourist attractions. The street is a little different because the entire street is a shopping mall.

Next day we went to Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse. If they did not put Crazy Horse with Yellowstone on the same itinerary, then I probably would not go. The statue when completed is supposed to be the largest in the world; however, owners of Crazy Horse stalled the construction of the monument due to the lack of funds. So far, only head is completed. To put the size of the head in perspective, you can put the four monuments on Crazy Horse's Head and still have some room left over. Other than taking pictures with the statue from a viewpoint, it was a shopping and eating destination. At Mount Rushmore, I had two hours, but it takes three hours to climb up to the head. So I recommend three or more hours at Mount Rushmore. There are good photographic angles of the Black hills at the very top. These two sites were interesting because I studied AP US History for one year and I knew the history of all the presidents until 1992.

People who want to see animals native to Wyoming, Montana, and South Dakota area should plan to visit Bear Country USA. There is a safari where you drive your car and look at indigenous animals such as the black bear, grizzly bear, coyote, wolf, etc. Afterwards, there is a small zoo to supplement the experience. The highlight is taking photos of a small scuffle between two black bear cubs.

On my third day, I went to only five tourist spots at Yellowstone National Park. The park does not belong to any state, but to the federal government. If you commit a crime within the park, then you have to face a trial or hearing in Washington D.C. Geysers in New Zealand and Iceland are well known, but nowhere are there as many geysers as in there are in Yellowstone. After watching the film, "2012", many people know there is a super-volcano underneath Yellowstone. There were several eruptions. One eruption was 2 million years ago, another 1.3 million years ago, and again in 640,000 years ago. It spewed about 240 cubic meters of debris. After three eruptions, the central part of the park collapsed and formed a 30 to 45 mile basin, also known as Yellowstone Lake. Yellowstone Lake is a gorgeous place to take photos. You can capture the moment when the sun sprouts out of the horizon like a plant. There are birds that add color and interest to the landscape. Geysers sprout water vapor to decrease the chance of an overexposure in your photo. The steam also gives the lake a mysterious perception.

The magmatic heat underneath Yellowstone fires up the underground water. Then suddenly, the geysers spew out a tower of water. Old Faithful has erupted. The bad news is that Old Faithful has become less and less faithful. It does not erupt every 40 minutes or 60 minutes, but every 90 to 100 minutes.

South of Yellowstone's border is Grand Teton National Park. This national park has mountains that are part of the North American Rocky Mountain chain. Everybody knows the mountain from watching Paramount picture films because Paramount uses the mountain as part of its logo.

Further south is Arches National Park. This is the national park where I can spend more time examining landscape. Water, ice, underground salt movement, and extreme temperatures are responsible for shaping the rock at Arches. The arches formed because the underground salt bed slowly eroded after millions of years. These salt beds exist because an ocean existed at Arches National Park about 300 Million Years ago. After millions of years, the water evaporated and the residue from floods, winds, and oceans covered the salt bed. Over time, the earth compressed the debris into one-mile thick rocks. Some arches fall because of the unstable salt bed and the weight of the thick layer of rock. These massive structures become a kind of window to the other side of the park. It is best to photograph it during Sunrise or sunset because the sun casts a shadow that makes the rock glow a soft reddish-orange.

These national parks are only a portion of the places that I visited. Other places include Salt Lake Cityand the Church of Jesus Christ and Latter Day Saints. Others include the Utah State Capitol where I met Miss Utah. In Colorado, I took pictures of Red Rock State park that pales in comparison to Arches National Park. We did not spend a lot of time at each site because these Mid-Western sites are not as jaw dropping as the Canadian Rocky Mountains. Sure American Rocky Mountains are taller, but Canadian Rocky Mountains are prettier with their snow capped mountains and moraine filled lakes.

What makes Life of Pi appeal to me? Maybe it was the overuse of magic realism that made the film seem so surreal at times. It might also be the visual effects that stunned me. Most likely is the mind boggling conclusion to the film that required the audience's own interpretation. Life of Pi is an astounding story that is made with excellent visual effects and cinematography.

First, the story of an Indian boy who grew up at a zoo in an atheistic family learns religion on his own is a remarkable adventure. As a young boy, we see Piscine struggle with the concept of spirituality when he attempted to claim Hinduism, Christianity, Islam, and Buddhism at the same time. We notice that he can feel the animal's soul. However, it might just be his own reflection reflected back at him. The author of the original story, Yann Martel, employed magic realism to make the reader perceive the animals are alive. Director Ang Lee uses a unique camera view to make capture those moments on film. When Pi is feeding the tiger, we got a sense that the tiger was a human. It approached Pi slowly. We noticed a peculiar look in its eye. For a brief second, we almost forgot that those were the eyes of a fearsome tiger.

Second, the visual effects and the cinematography in some scenes reminded us of Avatar. When Pi looked at the glimmering stars, the camera showed us a view of the stars reflection in the water. The 3D effects made the water seem tangible to the audience. As whales and dolphins pass underneath the life boat, we watched them swim in crystal clear water. The glimmering light from the cosmos made Pi's journey look spiritual. The light from the stars made the water look more blue than usual. It reminded us of the glow in the dark trees on Pandora.

Finally, the conclusion of the film became an enigma. Audiences around the world began to analyze the events that unfolded in the film. We asked ourselves questions. Such questions include: Was his journey with the animals a metaphor for the grueling events that occurred on the boat? What really happened on the island? Did the island even existed? Was there even a tiger on the boat? Was the tiger a image of himself as an animal?

To conclude, Life of Pi was a deeply philosophical film, where the audience has to think deeper thoughts. It made us wonder about our own religious beliefs. Pi's journey across the Pacific Ocean made him grow into a man with more mature outlooks on life. People go through this rite passage when they transition from a child to an adult.

On November 21, 2012, Rebecca Soni, a 6 time Olympic medalist and a 2-time world record holder, visited West Windsor Plainsboro High School North. She was also a member of High School North's Class of 2005. She gave a presentation only to juniors and seniors. After her introduction about her life, we were given a chance to ask her questions.

The first question came from a physical education teacher. It was about Rebecca Soni's celebrity status. Rebecca said, "I don't really think of myself as a celebrity. I have become a sort of role model for people to look up to. I have a unique training method and study method that teaches younger students how to balance time". Her answer was meant to inspire and kindle new ideas.

The second question was from my classmate and he asked it to be funny. He asked her if she would be his prom date. Rebecca reacted by saying, "Where were you seven years ago?" She was not a very popular high school student and did not get a prom date when she was in high school. Surprisingly, Rebecca went on and replied, "Maybe".

I was the third person to ask a question. I asked her to describe her feelings while she was swimmingthe 200-meter breaststroke. She replied, "When I swim, I try to keep a strong focus. To do this, I counted the number of strokes used. Generally, I don't over-think while swimming". Then I asked a second question. "If you plan on attending the 2016 Olympics in Rio, What are your goals or objectives?" She replied, "Well, the reason that I am not sure whether to attend Rio 2016 is because I don't have a strong target. When I was in high school, my club coach told me that I was a 219. At that time, I was swimming 250. After Beijing, I worked hard for four years to get to 219". As most Olympic fans know, her world record-breaking two hundred meter breaststroke in London was a 219.

At the end of the presentation, the vice mayor of Plainsboro township gave Rebecca Soni an honorary award. During the Olympics, Plainsboro placed the Olympic rings and Soni's name in front of the township building.

The whole school was excited that Rebecca Soni came back to WWP North after seven years. She graduated from the school in 2005. She started her high school with Lakers star, Andrew Bynum. After her presentation, she posted a tweet that said, "I just had a BLAST visiting my high school in NJ. Thanks WWP north for the warm welcome, you guys are awesome!"